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Hugo Ekitike went from hero to villain at Anfield on Tuesday evening following his match-winning goal against Southampton.
The French forward was sent off during his celebration in Liverpool's dramatic 2-1 victory over the Saints. After netting in the 85th minute, Ekitike ran towards the supporters and removed his shirt, displaying his name and number.
Referee Thomas Bramall spotted this and didn't hesitate to brandish a second yellow card to the 23-year-old. Ekitike will now miss Liverpool's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday, which will present a frustrated Arne Slot with tactical headaches.
The striker's poor judgment didn't just leave Slot stunned; teammate Jeremie Frimpong rushed towards the still-celebrating Ekitike with concern, informing the forward that his behavior would lead to an early exit.
Here, Liverpool.com have compiled all the responses to Ekitike's dismissal, featuring Slot's behind-the-scenes words with the player, a necessary apology and the team selection dilemma this has created for the Reds.
Slot's private discussion with Ekitike - 'Already needless'
Arne Slot has been left furious by Ekitike's behavior, describing both his yellow cards as "stupid" and "needless". The Reds manager was livid following the match, despite Liverpool progressing to the fourth round.
When asked about Ekitike's dismissal, the Dutchman said: "The first one (yellow card) was already needless and to a certain extent stupid because you have to control your emotions, and I know how hard it is if you play in the Premier League and you are a number nine then the defender can almost do everything he wants, and when you push him a little bit you get a free-kick against you.
"But it is always the best to control your emotions, and if you can't then do it in a way that doesn't lead to a yellow card. So I think I said when I got my red card against Everton that's always stupid because you can show your emotions but if it leads to a yellow or red then it's, to a certain extent, stupid."
Slot revealed his private chat with the Liverpool star, claiming he would have been fine with Ekitike celebrating this way if it had been a much higher-stakes match for the club. He said: "Then I told him that if you score in a Champions League final in the 87th minute after beating three players and hitting it in the top corner I can maybe understand you say 'it's all about me'.
"But I'm old fashioned, I'm 47, I'm old, and I haven't played at this level but I did score a few goals, and if I scored a goal like this I would have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and say 'this goal is all about you, this is not about me'.
"So yeah, needless, not smart, you call it stupid and I call it stupid."
Ekitike's heartfelt apology - 'Emotion got the better of me'
The French striker issued a personal apology to his teammates and supporters following his second-half dismissal. Ekitike took to social media to express his delight at Liverpool progressing to the next stage of the Carabao Cup, but accepted complete responsibility for his conduct that resulted in a red card.
Posting on his Instagram story, the young soccer star said: "I was so excited tonight to help the team achieve another victory here in our home for my first Carabao Cup match... The emotion got the better of me tonight.
"My apologies to all the Red family. Thanks to the fans who always support as and to my teammates for secured this victory! #Reds."
Teammate Andy Robertson has echoed his manager's sentiments regarding the dismissal, with the Scotsman having captained the team in Virgil van Dijk's absence. Looking back on the disappointing conclusion to an otherwise thrilling evening at Anfield, the defender said: "I think scoring a goal is always emotional and you always get that emotion.
"But he's obviously just forgotten he's been booked. His first one is stupidity, kicking the ball away, we know the rules around that. Two silly bookings to pick up and now we miss him for Saturday."
Defending Ekitike, Robertson added: "It's silly from his part, but he's only young and he will learn from it. Happy that he scored but the last ten minutes were made a bit more difficult being down to ten men. He will learn from it and I am sure he won't do it again."
Alexander Isak's Palace opportunity
With Ekitike ruled out of contention for Saturday's fixture, all eyes shift to £125million signing Alexander Isak. The Swedish striker found the net against Southampton on Tuesday with a spectacular strike following a defensive error, though he was withdrawn at the break for his attacking teammate.
Slot had been gradually introducing Isak to first-team action after he missed the campaign's opening matches because his transfer situation remained unresolved. However, the Liverpool manager might need to thrust his record signing directly into the starting line-up for Saturday's clash with Crystal Palace.
Slot said: "Yeah, it's nice because it's only six or seven days ago when he made his debut. I just asked, 'Was it two weeks ago when we played Burnley?' He said, 'No, it was only one week ago.' So, time goes so fast that sometimes you don't understand how long it took.
"But we got him not in the best circumstances in terms of match fitness, so we have to build it up. The downside to that is that you cannot play a player 90 minutes and if you only play him 45 or 30 or again like today 45, it might then normally take a while before he scores his first goal because we can all understand if you play a player three times 90, it's a bigger chance that he scores a goal than when you play him 45, 30, 45.
"I think the best moment to start to see where he is and how much he can help us – you can already see that he can help us – but the best [will be] when he comes back hopefully from the Swedish national team, when he stayed fit, played there many minutes, plays for us in the upcoming weeks a few minutes. "Then I think after that then his pre-season has ended and we can expect even more from him. But until now I'm very happy with what I've seen from him."
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